Baltimore Ravens Joe Flacco, Ray Rice get HBO shoutout on 'VEEP'

For the second week in a row, Baltimore got some prime-time, Sunday-night love on high-end cable TV.

Two weeks ago, Lutherville got a mention on "Mad Men." Granted, it was a throwaway line, but a mention is a mention in self-conscious Baltimore -- and its north county cousins.

This Sunday, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice got the shoutout on HBO's "VEEP," which is made in Maryland.

The mention came when Vice President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) went on "Meet The Press," and after her segment ended, tried to chat up the host not realizing her microphone was still hot and every word she says was being recorded.

Like the series, it's a very media savvy and funny moment. Meyer, trying to be one of the "boys" in the mostly male world of Sunday-morning-TV-talk, wants to challenge the host and place a friendly bet on one of NFL games scheduled that afternoon.

Part of the joke is that the regular host, David Gregory, is off, and Meyer's aides can't figure out which team the substitute host follows. She's afraid that he's a Ravens fan like her and so, they can't bet against each other.

"With Flacco, forget about it," she says confidently after her segment ends and a sound man is starting to disconnect her from the microphone she's wearing. "I'll bet you a buck we win by a touchdown."

But she's at a loss and starts really faking it when the substitute host responds with, "What about Ray Rice?"

Out of that fumble, she barely catches her breath before making an offensive remark about a Chinese-American governor, and, you guessed it, it is picked up by the hot microphone and destined to be played all over the media within the hour.

With a "VEEP" episode set at Camden Yards, Baltimore is going to be getting more Sunday-night shoutouts in coming weeks on HBO.